Men's basketball: William Woods 71, Park University 50

PARKVILLE - Junior guard Shamari Denson was almost perfect in tallying a game-high 27 points to spur the Owls to a convincing win over the No. 17 Pirates in their AMC opener Saturday.

Denson made all 11 of his shots from the field - including four 3-pointers - and hit 1-of-3 free throws as William Woods University raised its season record to 3-4. Park stumbled to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the American Midwest Conference.

The Owls carried a 37-23 lead into halftime and then outscored the Pirates 34-27 in the second half to seal the win.

Junior forward Ray White - who connected on 5-of-8 shots - tallied 10 points as the only other player in double figures for William Woods, which shot 52 percent (26-of-50) as a team. Senior forward Darrien Dickey and senior guard DaShaun Stark added nine points apiece.

White completed a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds to lift the Owls to a 46-34 advantage on the boards.

Zach Rutland scored 13 points as the only player to make it into double figures for Park, which shot a feeble 28 percent (19-of-67) from the field.

William Woods will be back home for a nonconference matchup against Haskell Indian Nations (Kansas) University at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Anderson Arena.